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THE MARCH REGGAETON RECAP
The five songs below are just as unpredictable as the weather (in the best way possible). Whether you’re feeling like a club anthem or hearing some sounds that transport you back to the 2010’s, the past four weeks of music have…
De Camino Pa La Cima J Alvarez (Reloaded 2.0)
A compilation of his latest releases plus future hits.
LEON KING
For a country that has given Latin America its most phenomenal and popular male vocalists (and songwriters), it is no surprise that Mexico has also produced some of the world's greatest operatic tenors, such as Ramón Vargas…
Reggaetón’s Songsmith
Justin Quiles is not your average reggaetón star. The US-born Puerto Rican is not only one of the hottest urban singers out there, with over five billion combined streams, but also one of the most sought after songwriters in…
The Resurrection of Fania
Everyone knows the legendary tunes that came out of Fania. Like all empires, Fania’s went into decline after the 1990s. For many years the catalogue of iconic albums that sold millions, made superstars of Latin artists such as…
Peru Maravilloso: Vintage Latin, Tropical and Cumbia
Peru Maravilloso: Vintage Latin, Tropical & Cumbia
El Emigrante: Javier Moreno on his Lukas nomination and life in the UK…
Javier Moreno currently resides in London, when I spoke to him on a lovely sunny morning he was off to work on his side project: a Catalan inspired café! Born in Barcelona from a Catalan mother and Andalusian father, Javier has…
Gilberto Gil: “I’ve always felt I was in the best place I could be”
Thirty years after first seeing him in concert at the age of eight, Amaranta Wright comes face to face with the Brazilian music legend Gilberto Gil on his recent visit to London, and gets an insight into the man that inspired her…
Buika: 'La Noche Mas Larga' (2012)
A few months ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Concha Buika. Charming, clever, talented beyond words and with a unique a yet universally appealing personal history: the daughter of African immigrants who grew up in Spain…
Afro-Cuba returns to Africa via London
A triumphant reunion for Boncana Maïga’s transatlantic charanga orchestra Las Maravillas De Mali...not so much a reunion as a reformation. Octogenarian master flautist, composer and arranger Boncana Maïga was the only original…
Sabrina Malheiros ‘Clareia’
The most up-lifting and danceable album to date, from the queen of Nu Bossa Nova
Woman on the Verge: MAVICA
Originally from Cartagena in south-eastern Spain, London-based Marta Casanova blends folk, indie, pop and electronic sounds. In September, Mavica’s debut album 'Sometimes a Person Never Comes Back (but that’s okay)',…
Arturo O'Farril's Fantasy Island Tracks
As son of the late Cuban composer, arranger, conductor, Chico O’Farril, and growing up among the greats of New York’s Jazz scene, we reckoned ARTURO O’FARRIL pianist, composer, and educator extraordinaire, must have had some…
It Takes Two…
Love comes in many forms, but music never lies when it comes to harmony...so we bring you the best in North-South Harmony? From Frank Sinatra and Tom Jobim when mutual admiration looked so cool (I mean, the legs crossed and fag…
Lizandro Meza “Salsita Mami” (Disco Fuentes)
Colombia's iconic king of Cumbia, LIzandro Meza, delves into the world of salsa with flavour and passion
Sao Paulo Symphony and Venezuelan Pianist Gabriela Montero delight a packed Royal Albert Hall at The BBC Proms
The 2016 season of BBC Proms has featured an unusual programme of high profile musicians from Latin America, starting with the brilliant young Argentine Sol Gabetta, soloist in an outstanding performance of Elgar's '…
Rumbero de Corazon by Dorance Lorza & Sexteto Cafe
The latest smooth salsa sounds from maestro arranger and vibrophonist Dorance Lorza
When Fado met Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Beyond
Ana Moura first burst onto the international scene in 2011, when she was hailed by the media as a ‘prodegée’ of Prince and Mick Jagger. But beyond this rather colonialist view (the Portuguese singer was a fully-fledged artist…
LATIN LONDONER #3 LAMAR - Vocalist, Composer, Producer
Born in Barcelona in 1979, Javier Moreno got his Flamenco influence from his Andalucian dad. He grew up in a little Catalunyan village, playing in the streets and 'with a great sense of freedom' Moreno before emigrating…
'Salvavidas de Hielo' Jorge Drexler
Blasting away all things vacuous and inane in this world, the Uruguayan singer-songwriter delivers another sublime work of unique musicality and profound lyricism.
Ground Control to Major Juan
Elizabeth Mistry hears how the Colombian super-bard has put aside his Camisa Negra for a spaceman's helmet.
Latinolife’s Worst One-Hit Latin Wonders
British consumers love a bit of kitch, and there’s nothing like a foreign-ish song to give the drunken punters a laugh on the pub dance floor. From the pastiche to the parody, they were painful at the time, but now a dying genre…
J Balvin's Fantasy Island Tracks
If you were stranded on a desert island, which tracks would you absolutely need, to get you through those times of despair? Man cannot live on sun and fish alone right? Our castaway, J Balvin, one of Latin America’s hottest urban…
La Casa del Ritmo: A film about ‘Los Amigos Invisibles’- a biopic by Javier Andrade.
This documentary has the story of the band woven into a key live performance shot at the Highline Ballroom in New York City in March 2011, created with the backing of the group’s own label, Gozadera Records. The film screens on…
Classic Latin Albums produced in the UK
Artists from all over the world come to record in London, and Latin Americans are no exception, from Soda Stereo to Buena Vista. But we are not interested in these 'parachute recordings', only the Latin artists who…
Issac Delgao Tunes That Rock the Dancefloor
El Chevere de la Salsa (The Cool Dude of Salsa) Issac Delgado is one of Cuba’s top salsa singers and has been at the top of his game since the ’80s with NG La Banda. He has become a reference for Cuban Salsa and has managed to…
THE MAY REGGAETON RECAP
This current heatwave is throwing off my natural calendar, from taking one glance outside you might think this was ‘The August Reggaeton Recap’ but instead it’s May’s – I promise. Unlike the weather, a lot of these newly…
The Grandfather of Brazilian Hip Hop
When you're talking about Latin Hip Hop, you can't get much bigger than Marcelo D2. A former vocalist of the band Planet Hemp, Marcelo D2 started his solo career in 1998 with the album Eu Tiro É Onda. After many years…
In Defiance for Art
In 2016, the world said goodbye to the Buena Vista Social Club in a farewell ‘Adios’ tour that included shows in the White House, where they performed for President Barack Obama. Or so the world thought. Defined as 'the…
Brown Girls in the Ring Make Argentina Sing…
How Cumbia conquered Argentina. The Cumbia invasion rides on populist political culture, but has urban snobs singing a different tune.
BUIKA THERAPY
Born of immigrants from Equatorial Guinea and growing up among Romani gypsies in Mallorca, Concha Buika has emerged to become Spain’s most unlikely Flamenco star. Yet her haunting, velvety voice, her sentimiento and chiselled…
Movimientos 10th Birthday Playlist
DJ Cal Jader chooses 10 tracks from the Movimientos crates with some of the tunes that rocked the dance floor at their early nights to three key releases on their record label and a few killer tunes from the last few years.
Voice in Residence
In the often vacuous world of Reggaeton, Residente has stood out as one of its most outspoken artists. Even at the Grammy Awards, where he has, perhaps surprisingly, won more than any other Latin artist, the former Calle 13…
Voltio and the Salseros of the Carcel
Voltio's visit to London this week somehow got us walking down the nostalgia path of Latino music 'en la carcel'. It's a weird and wonderful journey behind the musical bars.........
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